one by the immediate act, and the conditional one is rendered void; for this is a divorce in a past time, so the occurrence of divorce cannot be conceived within it. This is the analogy of the text of Ahmad and Abu Bakr regarding the fact that divorce does not occur in a past time, and it is the opinion of Abu al-'Abbas Ibn al-Qass from the Shafi'i companions. Abu al-'Abbas Ibn Surayj and some Shafi'is said: "She is never divorced; because the occurrence of the one necessitates the occurrence of three before it, and that prevents its occurrence, so establishing it leads to its negation, thus it is not established. Also, because causing it to occur leads to circular reasoning (dawr); for if it occurred, three would have occurred before it, so its occurrence is prevented, and whatever leads to circular reasoning must be severed at its root." Our argument is that it is a divorce from a legally competent person with free will, regarding a proper marriage, so it must occur, just as if he had not stipulated this condition. Furthermore, the general implications of the texts demand the occurrence of divorce, such as His, the Exalted, saying: "If he divorces her, she shall not be lawful to him thereafter until she has wed another spouse" (Surah al-Baqarah 230). And His, the Exalted, saying: "Divorced women shall wait for themselves for three menstrual periods" (Surah al-Baqarah 228), as well as all other texts. Moreover, Allah the Almighty legislated divorce for a specific purpose related to it, and what they mentioned prevents it entirely and invalidates its legitimacy, causing its purpose to be missed; this is not permissible based merely on opinion and arbitrary judgment. What they mentioned is not conceded; for if we say: "The conditional divorce does not occur," it has a basis, because he caused it to occur in a past time, and it is impossible for it to occur in the past, so it did not occur, just as if he said: "You are divorced one day before Zayd's arrival," and he arrived that day. Furthermore, he made the occurring divorce a condition for the occurrence of the three, and that which is conditioned does not exist before its condition; thus, the occurrence of the immediate divorce is not prevented, and it does not lead to a contradiction.